i've been reading about irc, the commands, and how it works for about as long as i've been a member of this site...to say the very least it sounds rather intimidating...from what i've been able to glean, there are inherent risks associated with even connecting to a relay server and that there are commands which, if entered can fuck up your computer...

i'd like to know whether there are any other areas of computer knowledge that i should be versed in that will help me better understand the commands and especially, how to stay safe--is it something that a simple proxy or two can help with or do i really need to learn how to work those x's and slashes? i've connected to the one on this site and entered a command or two (to mask my ip and other basic stuff) but there doesn't seem to be any confirmation or way of knowing whether i've done it right. i do notice that when i enter a few commands i'll get notes in the top right of my screen ,but as they are also in "irc language" i have no idea what they mean...any help is appreciated

I can teach you. But please note that irc is an addictive protocol, much more so then random forums are. I'd basically be teaching you how to place a tourniquet, find a vain, and shoot up. Continue at your own risk.

If you use our irc network you'll ip will automatically be masked. Not all networks do this though, but we have a policy of not giving out users ip's.There is very little you can do to actually mess anything up from an irc client. Or I should say, it depends on the client.. but basically the only way to do something horribly wrong is to be tricked into issuing some obscure command in the same way that you can be tricked to format your c drive when using cmd. Which reminds me, you should probably at some point pick a real irc client to use. (I'd advice xchat or mirc)Things you'll have to learn for efficient irc use(in order):-Learn to deal with trolls.IRC is not as friendly or nice as the forums are. Its a higher pace and because of that it is often a meaner place. Stand your ground and don't let anyone trick you into saying something stupid.(trolls feed on weakness, stupidity and butthurt. Do not feed the trolls)-Basic etiquette.There are written and unwritten rules on irc. Some of these are: Do not pm without permission, do NOT ever use DCC chat unless if this person is your lover, do not use automated/scripted replies, no all caps, write out your words in full(no: asl? how R u?), do not bore people with every little detail of what you are doing(no one cares that you have to poop, just go), be patient(most people aren't glued to their screen except during an interesting conversation, life goes on and they'll reply to you when they damn well feel like it).-Register your nicknameBy default irc operates on the use it or lose it way of life. A name or a channel is only yours if you had it first and you actually use it. However, you can register your name so it stays your forever(we'll take it back if you don't use it for 30 days or so). Failure to do this means everyone who wants to take your name while you're gone and register it has every right to do so and gets the pleasure of kicking you off the network every time you attempt to use it.-Learn the terminology and commandsMost of this is covered in the links at the top.Knowing the modes helps, but you mostly need to know that a +b is a ban, and a -b is an unban.Channels are run by an op or several ops(they have mode +o, you'll notice them having an @ before their name in the nicklist or whatever sign your client wants to use)A server is run by an oper or ircop(note how both of these are basically operators, but on a totally different level)There are different kinds of ops and different kinds of opers, but you really shouldn't be concerned with that for now. It all comes down to this: they've been given some sort of status symbol and can possibly get rid of bad users.

If you stick to the commands mentioned at the top and these tips then there is absolutely nothing that can go wrong. You'll learn more along the way until irc has no more secrets for you.

<Yoda> if someone says something i don't like, i ban him, ban whoever defends him, and then ban the witnesses...

weekend hacker wrote:I can teach you. But please note that irc is an addictive protocol, much more so then random forums are. I'd basically be teaching you how to place a tourniquet, find a vain, and shoot up. Continue at your own risk.

lmao. Good post weekend.

Mooka, this is short and sweet of it but also highly important. If you are new to IRC everyone else, they 'know'. Trolls will come out of every dark corner imaginable until you establish yourself in the community. For example; when I first became a mod and started getting on IRC I was called out one night. For the next 20 min I took on a barrage of attacks until I established dominance as a staff member. But doing so with tact. Haven't had any real problems since. As far as clients; xchat is good but if you are running windows it's been re-released as HexChat. Basically the same thing and you don't need to worry about getting around the verification.

"The quieter you become, the more you are able to hear...""Drink all the booze, hack all the things."

weekend hacker wrote:I can teach you. But please note that irc is an addictive protocol, much more so then random forums are. I'd basically be teaching you how to place a tourniquet, find a vain, and shoot up. Continue at your own risk.<br><br>Besides the friendly warning, there are some things you should probably read:<br>https://www.hackthissite.org/pages/irc/reference.php<br>https://www.hackthissite.org/articles/read/805If you use our irc network you'll ip will automatically be masked. Not all networks do this though, but we have a policy of not giving out users ip's. There is very little you can do to actually mess anything up from an irc client. Or I should say, it depends on the client.. but basically the only way to do something horribly wrong is to be tricked into issuing some obscure command in the same way that you can be tricked to format your c drive when using cmd. Which reminds me, you should probably at some point pick a real irc client to use..

thanks man!! i read the article on here once before, maybe i'm making things harder than they have to be...i'll inbox you with specific questions!

will definitely beware the trolls. honestly that's the main reason why i'm not in a rush to screw around on irc until i'm confident that i know what i'm doing...what do you mean when you say a "real" irc client as opposed to the one on the site?

peacemooka

in other news, i wasn't able to get on the forums all night last night, kept getting an overload message

mookalovesgloop wrote:what do you mean when you say a "real" irc client as opposed to the one on the site?

Well, most people (read, everyone who is on their own computer) uses an actual irc client and not some webinterface.Pretty much all web irc clients are just a frontend and the actual irc part happens on their server. In other words, they read everything you do and then send it along to the irc server. This is not acceptable for most people so they use standalone software that is made specifically for irc.Besides the benefit of a possibly secure connection, some people might edit their clients with fancy scripts or plug ins. Or just tweak the settings to fit their needs. And there is of course something nice about always having your trusted familiar irc client that may or may not autoconnect when the computer starts.(web clients are often also limited in their functionality, not appropriate for non default use)In short, a 'real client' is software made specifically for irc that doesn't rely on silly things like a browser or other peoples servers. And for proper irc-ing I'd say its a must.

And yeah shit was down the other day, then things ware changed to deal with more load so now its okay again I guess

<Yoda> if someone says something i don't like, i ban him, ban whoever defends him, and then ban the witnesses...